take up two major same-sex marriage cases. the first is the defense of marriage act. the 1996 law denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. the second is california's proposition 8 that makes same-sex marriage illegal in the state. a decision on these cases is expected next year. in sports news, it's heisman time. the coveted trophy will be presented tonight in new york to the nation's best college football player. one of the finalists, texas a&m quarterback, johnny manziel, is a freshman. no first-year player has ever won the award. the other finalists are kansas state quarterback collin klein and notre dame linebacker manti te'o. i'll see you back here at the top of the hour. "your bottom line" starts right now. >> thanks, randi. see you at top of the hour. going over the fiscal cliff doesn't mean your taxes go up, it means programs and services that touch virtually every

aspect of american life are downsized. good morning, everyone. i'm kristine romans. america can't afford itself. a long-term debt and deficit problems, and these are the folks who have to fix it. how close are they? >> i think we're going over the cliff. >> we can't sit here and try to figure out what works for them. >> we look forward to the time when they are specific. >> they need to be more specific. >> they have to be willing to come to the table with specifics. >> we've not had any discussion and specifics with this president about the real problem. >> we need a response from the white house. we can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves. >> i will not play that game. >> further apart than ever. you've heard endless arguing about higher taxes on the rich. let's set that aside and talk about the sequester the budget wonk word for a thing that will touch every american. $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts over the next decade, 100 billion next year alone, half in defense and half in non-defense, defense programs cut by 9.4% across the board and

non-defense programs 8.2%. agencies are being told to identify the cuts. how will you feel them? fewer food inspections are likely. cdc budget cuts could make it harder to track food borne illness and cuts to the cancer institute, national science foundation and national cancer institute means 2,500 fewer research grants. worried about clean air and water, budget cuts will degrade the ability to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe. next, your safety. we could see fewer air traffic controllers, federal air marshalls, fbi agents, bothered security patrols. all those budgets would be cut. disaster relief funding also on the chopping block. the white house says that will undermine federal emergency management agency's ability to respond to terrorism and other catastrophes. and education could be cut by more than $4 billion. 100,000 children could lose their place in headstart.

the white house says more than 25,000 teachers and aides could lose their jobs. the national education association, it puts that number even higher, closer 2080,000 jobs lost. mark moriel is the president of the national urban league and will cain is a cnn contributor and jane zahadi is a writer at cnn money. mark, all of this, all of this, is if they go over the fiscal cliff and they don't fix it, and they never fix it, right, the worst case scenario. my question for you. so much talk about taxes for the rich but isn't it true if the sequester goes into effect and isn't fix this will d disproportionately hurt the poor? >> it would because it would be tax increases on middle and working class americans and hard cuts across the board in defense and domestic programs, including education and job training so there's -- >> 700,000 mothers and children will lose nutrition assistance and 80,000 fewer child care subsidies and 14,000 fewer homeless would receive assistance.

this is what agencies are preparing for as they do these cuts. >> remember, congress set this up. they set the cliff up in an effort to be responsive, to quote, the need for deficit reduction. they set this deadline. they have the option of pushing the deadline back and continuing to negotiate, but they ought to get together and flex their positions a little bit, and i think they can find common ground, but here's the most important thing. you know, many, many programs have already been cut before the fiscal cliff. many americans have already paid the ultmalmat sacrifice with the loss of their jobs and the loss of their homes. that's why there's so much of a focus i think on looking at those americans who have done the best in the recovery and asking them to do a little more. >> austerity, is the fiscal cliff sort of like austerity? >> absolutely. >> and europe haven't done so severely. >> that's the point. maybe we can put this off, but you can't put off reality. you're going to pay the piper. the question is the creation of washington of the fiscal cliff or a creation of your investors

and bondholders across the world that look at you in the same light as europe some day. we all know that day isn't here. this is a lesson for the republican party, and i think it's a lesson we should all take. instead of when we look at all these programs, mark, where are we going to make cuts and how terrible is this going to be, we need to judge our concern and empat empathy, not by the money, something marco rubio and paul ryan talked about, by the outcomes, not how much we spend but what we get out of it. look at something how much money we throw at it we'll august suggest more, more, more. >> government does such a good job tracking outcomes. >> let's track the outcomes of tax loopholes so if we're going to evaluate outcomes it's important to evaluate the outcomes of tax loopholes. >> how quickly will all this felt? say they have a deal three weeks into the new year, that doesn't help you if you're trying to run an agency budget because you've got to make plans for january 2nd. >> agencies were told to plan for the cuts, still don't think it should happen but we'll have

plans in place in case they do. the omb and even federal agencies themselves can sort of postpone the impact of these cuts for at least a few weeks into the new year if we go over the cliff and if legislators are going to promise they are going to get a deal. so you may not feel these cuts at all. i should also say we don't know where the cuts are really going to come from because all we have are percentages per agentsy. it will affect a lot of things we talked about probably, but to the extent we can't say. >> this is something i've heard from conservatives, that the only way to get efficiency and innovation from some of these agencies who have seen just budgets go up, up, up, up, up, is to cut back, make them do more with less. is that fair? is it right? >> well, first philosophy i do believe. there's some conservatives and liberals and democrats who believe this is all a contest about getting the right guy in place, the guy who knows how to run something efficient. i don't believe in the concept of efficient bureaucracy. the only way you're going to

make something smaller or better is to cut it. i don't believe in efficient government. >> what i've got a problem with the selective cuts. yeah, okay, if you're going to have and suggest cuts here, why not look at every aspect of government. >> absolutely. >> that includes tax loopholes and the defense budget also and that's really been the debate inside of the debate, inside the room. it's a conversation about where you cut. >> let's talk about the elephant in the room and the middle class. when we talk about government spending the vast majority is on the middle class through medicare and social security and can't dance around and say we don't want to touch these because it's politically unfeasible. that's the biggest portion of spending. >> and there are inefficiencies there that can be yielded. nothing should be done that's going to retard economic growth. nothing should be done that should cost us more jobs. can you fix the fiscal cliff and

send the economy downward. >> the fiscal cliff, isn't it having real impact in the economy now? >> it's having real impact and name pact will growth longer we take to come to a deal, some deal, any deal. what everybody wants, individuals who are going to be paid in january, they don't know how much and businesses, so what's the deal? what are -- what do we have to plan on? >> the best down payment would be to continue tax rates at the middle class for the rates they are, the best down payment. that's the best easy first step and i hope congress will realize take a step and take it now and give the president something he can sign. >> that has to be the last word. thanks, guys. from the downward slope of the cliff to the upward climb on jobs, a big surprise in the november jobs numbers. it's a step in the right direction, but ali velshi will join me with a look at why we need to do much more. americans believe they should be in charge of their own future. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms.

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despite the wrath of superstorm sandy. let's dig inside these numbers. can you see that 40% of the unploimd employed have within out of work for six months or longer, something we need to fix and something else we need to fix, the underemployment rate, 14.4%. those are people who are out of work or working part time and would like to be working full time. again, another number we have to fix. i want to show you where the jobs, are pretty important to look at. 53 retail jobs added, likely holiday hiring, no question, but some of these will be temporary jobs and not all of them are paying benefits or full-time. looking further, can you see professional and business services, 43,000 jobs created there. the government pointing out computer system analyst and related industries very, very strong job growth there. another reason why stem pays. this is the trend because we always look at these numbers in, you know, context for where we've been. the recession, millions of jobs lost and here is what we've been doing month after month, putting

together two full years now of job growth. i want to bring in ali velshi. since the beginning of the year job growth has averaged 151,000 a month. >> yeah. >> economists say we need that and more to keep up with the growth in population. >> we need at least 150 to 200,000. >> how do we do better? >> look, we've got to fix the things that got broken in the recession, so we do need the construction jobs back and do need manufacturing jobs back and if congress gets past the fiscal cliff what you're going to start to see is there's been a groundwork laid for an economic renaissance in the united states, gas prices, natural gas prices have come down because we're finding so much of it and producing more oil. know there's a housing boom and there's been a resurgence in manufacturing. now the problem with manufacturing is not creating as many jobs. more manufacturing output but those are the areas we can concentrate on, energy, manufacturing and housing to create more jobs, and that's already kind of happening. government can only stand in the way of this right now by not

getting the fiscal house in order. >> that's what's so important here because you want to see things looking forward, grow better than we have this year, the fiscal cliff in the way. republicans say if you raise taxes on the top 2% that will hurt small business and will kill jobs. talked to the ceo of fedex and he says, shall we say, there's mythology around that assumption. listen. >> the reality is the vast majority of jobs in the united states are produced by capital investment and equipment and software that's not done by small business. >> right. >> it's done by big business, and the so-called gazelles, the emerging companies like the new fracing oil and gas operations. >> we've talked about this so many times. >> yeah. >> it's demand that creates jobs. >> that's exactly right, and i'm glad fraud smith says that. gone from understanding that small business creates most of the new jobs generally in the united states, not all jobs. now that doesn't mean we shouldn't do all we can for small business because they are going to be on the margins where the new jobs come, from but we

have got to have an environment that creates jobs for everyone and you've done the studies yourself to show that increasing taxes on the top 2%, the portion of that that falls into small business owners who actually pass that through their personal income, is small and the portion of those that actually employs several workers is small, so i'm not arguing that taxes should go up for the rich. that's somebody else's argument to have. my point is it's not going to crush the economy to do so. >> so much heat of the conversation is just around the taxes for the rich. the jobs numbers, rear view mirror. >> absolutely. >> talking about how to fix it and how we're going to buttress the recovery. >> now we look at the future. >> ali velshi, thanks. up next, america's oldest dictionary has announced the words of the year. can you tell it was an election year. which one was the most popular search in 2012. the answer after the break. health care system i wae spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. information on my phone.

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miriam webster has announced its word of the year, and this year, well, it's actually two years, socialism and capitalism. got to wonder if those lookups were attempts to end some fierce family debates. socialism and capitalism. other top searched words of 2012, touche, bigot, marriage and democracy. also on the top ten list, malarkey. that word could be used to describe a lot of what's going on in washington right now. we're 24 days away from beginning to go over the edge of a fiscal cliff, and seemingly no real talk. just, well, malarkey. there's one solution, of course, called compromise, a dirty word in washington, sure, but most americans, believe it or not, are in favor of it. according to a new gallup poll 62% of americans would like to see lawmakers compromise on an agreement to avoid the cliff. just 25% want leaders to stick

to their party's principles on the issues of spending cuts and tax increases, and it's a sentiment both parties share. a majority of both parties favor compromise. 71% of democrats and 55% of republicans. so what's is going to take to get lawmakers to grow up and come to a compromise? cnn's kyung law went outside the beltway to find out. >> we cannot afford to extend the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. >> 700,000 jobs would be destroyed. >> >> two sides. ground into their positions. but they can meet in the middle. just ask tough negotiators outside the beltway. >> i am the negotiator who knows how to deal with bad guys. >> reporter: he's not talking about politicians, but crooks. literally. he was the fbi's negotiator in multiple high profile bank hostage standoffs. he says he peacefully freed dozens of hostages over his 20 years with the agency. he negotiated seemingly

impossible deals and says he never lost a life. you have to plan for everything going wrong as a negotiator. >> yeah. you've got to be ready for it and to deal with it. and you've got to be flexible. >> reporter: but not too flexible. the lawyer for hollywood heavyweights like harvey weinstei james cameron, and tom cruise knows about ugly divorces, public fights with studios, and yes, fair deals. >> at what point is it better to have no deal than the deal that's being offered? >> reporter: do you have an appreciation for what obama and boehner are looking at? >> oh, absolutely. i sympathize with both of them. it's not fun for these guys because there's too much at stake. it's fun for me because the worst that happens is my client gets less money, not the end of the world. it may seem that way for the client. >> reporter: even children know you have to cooperate. >> maybe you can work together,

build together. maybe you can connect it. what do you think? >> oh yeah. >> reporter: a daily lesson on the playground. working together sprouts even better solutions. >> you want to see my great idea? >> reporter: do you think that these lessons on the playground really need to be transferred to d.c.? >> absolutely. absolutely. we need to find a way to work together to figure out what's going to be acceptable to everybody. we've got to figure it out. otherwise, i mean, we all lose. >> reporter: there's nothing surprising here, because maybe it's just that simple. so if they can do it -- >> how old are you guys? >> 5. >> reporter: maybe the political playground can do it, too. okay, these guys are 5 years old and they're able to do something that d.c. can't. it simply makes so much sense to people outside the beltway. people are asking largely as we watch what's happening inside the beltway why can't speaker

boehner and president obama get on the phone and simply work it out? >> i guess you could argue if you've been in washington too long, you've been so far away from a real business deal or from kindergarten that you kind of lose that fundamental sense of how to fix it. is there a sense of frustration outside the beltway, that obama and boehner aren't talking more? >> oh yeah. i mean very simply put, oh yeah. absolutely. because the sense is that if they were talking, then they would be able to work it out. people outside the beltway -- and this is the reality here. they're not in the weeds like d.c. is. they're not paying attention to exactly who gives and takes. what they want to know is there's going to be a deal in place, that we're not going to drive over the fiscal cliff. something else that's resonating outside the beltway is that house members decided to call it a week by wednesday. so what people are wondering is why aren't they spending the weekends working this out? why are the people outside the

beltway having their financial future put in jeopardy because they can't work out a deal? >> what a great piece. thanks so much. have a great weekend. >> you bet. >> if you think this fiscal cliff fight has been a low point in american politics -- >> the president seems obsessed about raising taxes on you. >> we're not insisting on rates just out of spite or out of any kind of partisan bickering. >> i'm going to tell you why it might seem downright friendly compared to the next legislative battle. [ female announcer ] beef, meet flavor boost. flavor boost, meet beef. it's swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth

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if you think the fight over

the fiscal cliff is ugly, just wait until you see the battle over immigration reform. we've already had a little taste of what's to come with the fight over a bill recently passed in the house. >> if it's not racist in its intent, it's certainly racist in its effect. >> i'm personally insulted that anyone would use even loosely the term of racism as part of a statement related to merit-based advanced degrees. >> that exchange came after the house passed a bill providing more visas for foreign graduates who earn advanced degrees in the united states. sounds reasonable, right? but it did that by eliminating 55,000 diversity visas. those are visas dolled out in a lottery system and they tend to go to underrepresented minorities. here's what we have to decide. do we favor families or skills? last year, the united states granted more than one million green cards. nearly 65% went to immigrants sponsored by a family member

already in this country. only 13% were handed out based on specific in demand job skills. is the message we're sending give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses but not your ph.d.s? nothing is more important to this economy than having the right workers with the skills that fit our jobs. yeah, but you can't alienate a demographic that's now 10% of voting population. the gop gets that. ironically, the almost invisible former president george w. bush this week told this issue to reappear. >> immigrants come with new skills and new ideas. they fill a critical gap in our labor market. they work hard for a chance for a better life. >> i'm making a prediction here. after we resolve the fiscal cliff, immigration reform will be the next big legislative push. prepare yourself for the battle to come over comprehensive reform, as they call it. imagine you could reinvent the american immigration